HOWEVER much you love the rolling contours and ancient ridges of the Chilterns, sometimes we all need a change of scene.
Whether that means a glorious sunset in the Lake District, a misty day on Dartmoor or the remote grandeur of a Scottish glen, the UK has a startling range of different landscapes to explore.
But as we’ve discussed before, perhaps the one view that those who live in the landlocked Chilterns miss the most is the chance to gaze out to sea and soak up the sound of crashing waves and the smell of salt in the air.
Whether that’s on a glorious white sandy beach in the Outer Hebrides or on a Cornish clifftop, as an island nation with more than 11,000 miles of coastline, there’s no shortage of different seaside habitats to choose from, as we discovered back in 2022 on our exploration of some dramatic coastal landscapes.
From shingle strands to smugglers’ coves, from golden sands to rocky outcrops, our journey took us from the wilds of Norfolk to the Moray Firth. But what about destinations closer to home, within a couple of hours’ drive?
Good transport links put half a dozen counties inside that arc, from the beach huts of Dorset and Essex to the seaside towns of Kent and Sussex.
But our outing this week takes us to Herne Bay in North Kent in the company of regular Beyonder contributor Gel Murphy.
The town rose to prominence as a seaside resort during the early 19th century after the building of a pleasure pier and promenade by a group of London investors, and reached its heyday in the late Victorian era.
A later replacement pier became the second longest in the country after Southend-on-Sea, complete with electric tramway, theatre and pavilion, but the central section was torn down by a storm in 1978, leaving the end of the pier isolated in the sea.
At the time it held a sports centre, opened in 1976 by former Prime Minister Edward Heath, but the centre was demolished in 2012, leaving a bare platform. Multi-million pound plans to reconnect the derelict pier head have so far failed to come to fruition, leaving the eerie landmark most visitors recognise today.
It’s in stark contrast to those lovingly decorated colourful beach huts that line the front.
But if it’s genuinely eerie you’re looking for, maybe it’s worth a longer trip across to the other side of Kent and the wilds of Dungeness, that flat, desolate headland where fishermen’s huts lie in the shadow of a nuclear power station, an extraordinary landscape which we explored in 2020 in the company of artist Tim Baynes.
